Laws about Repayment

¹“If someone steals a cow or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay five cows for one cow and four sheep for one sheep.

^2-4He must pay for what he stole. If he owns nothing, he shall be sold as a slave to pay for what he has stolen. If the stolen animal, whether a cow, a donkey, or a sheep, is found alive in his possession, he shall pay two for one. “If a thief is caught breaking into a house at night and is killed, the one who killed him is not guilty of murder. But if it happens during the day, he is guilty of murder.

⁵“If someone lets his animals graze in a field or a vineyard and they stray away and eat up the crops growing in someone else's field, he must make good the loss with the crops from his own fields or vineyards.

⁶“If someone starts a fire in his own field and it spreads through the weeds to someone else's field and burns up grain that is growing or that has been cut and stacked, the one who started the fire is to pay for the damage.

⁷“If anyone agrees to keep someone else's money or other valuables for him and they are stolen from his house, the thief, if found, shall repay double.

⁸But if the thief is not found, the one who was keeping the valuables is to be brought to the place of worship and there he must take an oath that he has not stolen the other one's property.

⁹“In every case of a dispute about property, whether it involves cattle, donkeys, sheep, clothing, or any other lost object, the two people claiming the property shall be taken to the place of worship. The one whom God declares to be guilty shall pay double to the other one.

¹⁰“If anyone agrees to keep someone else's donkey, cow, sheep, or other animal for him, and the animal dies or is injured or is carried off in a raid, and if there was no witness,

¹¹the man must go to the place of worship and take an oath that he has not stolen the other man's animal. If the animal was not stolen, the owner shall accept the loss, and the other man need not repay him;

¹²but if the animal was stolen, the man must repay the owner.

¹³If it was killed by wild animals, the man is to bring the remains as evidence; he need not pay for what has been killed by wild animals.

¹⁴“If anyone borrows an animal from someone else and it is injured or dies when its owner is not present, he must pay for it.

¹⁵But if that happens when the owner is present, he need not repay. If it is a rented animal, the loss is covered by the rental price.

Moral and Religious Laws

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, he must pay the bride price for her and marry her.

¹⁷But if her father refuses to let him marry her, he must pay the father a sum of money equal to the bride price for a virgin.

¹⁸“Put to death any woman who practices magic.

¹⁹“Put to death any man who has sexual relations with an animal.

²⁰“Condemn to death anyone who offers sacrifices to any god except to me, the Lord.

²¹“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner; remember that you were foreigners in Egypt.

²²Do not mistreat any widow or orphan.

²³If you do, I, the Lord, will answer them when they cry out to me for help,

²⁴and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless.

²⁵“If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest.

²⁶If you take someone's cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sun sets,

²⁷because it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful.

²⁸“Do not speak evil of God, and do not curse a leader of your people.

²⁹“Give me the offerings from your grain, your wine, and your olive oil when they are due. “Give me your first-born sons.

³⁰Give me the first-born of your cattle and your sheep. Let the first-born male stay with its mother for seven days, and on the eighth day offer it to me.

³¹“You are my people, so you must not eat the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals; instead, give it to the dogs.

Unclean Bodily Discharges

¹The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations

²for the people of Israel. When any man has a discharge from his penis, the discharge is unclean,

³whether the penis runs with it or is stopped up by it.

⁴Any bed on which he sits or lies is unclean.

⁵Anyone who touches his bed

⁶or sits on anything the man has sat on must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

⁷Anyone who touches the man with the discharge must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

⁸If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is ritually clean, that person must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

⁹Any saddle or seat on which the man with the discharge sits is unclean.

¹⁰Anyone who touches anything on which the man sat is unclean until evening. Anyone who carries anything on which the man sat must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

¹¹If a man who has a discharge touches one of you without first having washed his hands, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, and you remain unclean until evening.

¹²Any clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden bowl that he touches must be washed.

¹³After the man is cured of his discharge, he must wait seven days and then wash his clothes and take a bath in fresh spring water, and he will be ritually clean.

¹⁴On the eighth day he shall take two doves or two pigeons to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence and give them to the priest.

¹⁵The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way he will perform the ritual of purification for the man.

¹⁶When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body, and he remains unclean until evening.

¹⁷Anything made of cloth or leather on which the semen falls must be washed, and it remains unclean until evening.

¹⁸After sexual intercourse both the man and the woman must take a bath, and they remain unclean until evening.

¹⁹When a woman has her monthly period, she remains unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening.

²⁰Anything on which she sits or lies during her monthly period is unclean.

^21-23Any who touch her bed or anything on which she has sat must wash their clothes and take a bath, and they remain unclean until evening.

²⁴If a man has sexual intercourse with her during her period, he is contaminated by her impurity and remains unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies is unclean.

²⁵If a woman has a flow of blood for several days outside her monthly period or if her flow continues beyond her regular period, she remains unclean as long as the flow continues, just as she is during her monthly period.

²⁶Any bed on which she lies and anything on which she sits during this time is unclean.

²⁷Any who touch them are unclean and must wash their clothes and take a bath; they remain unclean until evening.

²⁸After her flow stops, she must wait seven days, and then she will be ritually clean.

²⁹On the eighth day she shall take two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

³⁰The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and in this way he will perform the ritual of purification for her.

³¹The Lord told Moses to warn the people of Israel about their uncleanness, so that they would not defile the Tent of his presence, which was in the middle of the camp. If they did, they would be killed.

³²These are the regulations about a man who has a discharge or an emission of semen,

³³a woman during her monthly period, or a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ritually unclean.

God the Victor

¹God is known in Judah; his name is honored in Israel.

²He has his home in Jerusalem; he lives on Mount Zion.

³There he broke the arrows of the enemy, their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.

⁴How glorious you are, O God! How majestic, as you return from the mountains where you defeated your foes.

⁵Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had and now are sleeping the sleep of death; all their strength and skill was useless.

⁶When you threatened them, O God of Jacob, the horses and their riders fell dead.

⁷But you, Lord, are feared by all. No one can stand in your presence when you are angry.

⁸You made your judgment known from heaven; the world was afraid and kept silent,

⁹when you rose up to pronounce judgment, to save all the oppressed on earth.

¹⁰Human anger only results in more praise for you; those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.

¹¹Give the Lord your God what you promised him; bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations. God makes everyone fear him;

¹²he humbles proud princes and terrifies great kings.